A flat January but a spring upturn for US container traffic

These conclusions are based on a survey and analysis of inbound container traffic flows at the ports of Charleston, Hampton Roads, Houston, Long Beach, Los Angeles, New York/New Jersey, Oakland, Savannah, Seattle and Tacoma.

“We’re headed into the slow season for cargo shipments, but forecasts indicate that retailers will be stocking up this spring in anticipation of a moderate recovery as the year progresses,” said Jonathan Gold, NRF vice president for Supply Chain and Customs Policy.

The ports included in the analysis handled 1.25m teu in November 2011, the latest month for which finalised numbers are available. That was down 2.1% from the preceding month, the peak month of the holiday shipping season, but up 1.2% from November 2010.